Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor that is increasingly being used in power electronic devices such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFETs). SiC power electronic devices generally have relatively low switching losses at relatively high switching rates (e.g., kilohertz (kHz) range), operate at relatively high junction temperatures, and operate at relatively high voltages as compared to other power electronic devices that do not employ silicon carbide within the respective device. As such, SiC power electronic devices have gained interest in recent years in view of their switching performance and high temperature operation capabilities.
However, since the costs of manufacturing SiC-based power electronic devices are not comparable to other power electronic devices, other silicon-based (Si) power electronic devices, such as insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are used as a low cost alternative to using systems having SiC power electronic devices. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/983,010 entitled “Hybrid Converter System” filed on Dec. 29, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a hybrid three-level active neutral point clamped converter that utilizes both SiC-based power electronic devices, as well as Si-based power electronic devices.
Thus, the present disclosure is directed to a system and method for modulating a hybrid converter system, such as the hybrid three-level active neutral point clamped converter disclosed above, so as to obtain the benefits from both SiC-based and Si-based power electronic devices.